Through Zoran Eyes
by BlackShadow875
Summary: MM centered. A Zoran legend of the past lies forgotten...until the day a Zora, still in his teens, stumbles across strange coincidences that may not only unlock secrets to the forgotten tale, but possibly secrets about himself. Ch. 2 up.
1. Prologue

**Through Zoran Eyes**

Written by: BlackShadow875

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Majora's Mask, nor is there ever a point where I ever will, except in the cartridge form. Nintendo has all rights to the game.

NOTES: My first fanfic (all reviews are welcome). I was going to put it under the Zelda Universe site, but now it is placed here. Basically, as an overview, this is my version of what happens to Mikau before the game takes place. For those who have taken time to stop and read this story, I thank you heartily. Here are just a few things to mention before we begin. I know that some things I write are very different from the way it is put to aspect in the game, meaning I like to bend the rules of how some things really are (it won't be long before you find one in the prologue). So the thought to just have in mind is to just let it be. I assure you that I'll do my best to not let you down. Please don't use this story without my permission - and e-mail me if you have any questions. But for those who don't mind a little rule-bending, then let's begin, shall we?

**Prologue - The Zoran Legend**

The fiercely fought battle was almost drawing to a close.

Two Zora archers, surveying the scene, felt as if all hope was quickly draining out of the situation as they counted the last remnants of the Zoran armies.

After the quick survey, however, they unfortunately had a large problem on their hands.

"We only have a few thousand left!" said one of them.

"And the enemy?" asked the second.

"They outnumber us greatly!" said the first. "For every one we pick off, it seems that damn fish out there creates more every second!"

"How is that possible?" said the second Zora.

"Probably by using those stupid magic tricks of his," said the first one.

"What are we going to do?" asked the second Zora, now starting to panic. "Should we give the order to retreat?"

"No, we can't, until we get permission from our leader…"

"Where is he?" interrupted the other. "Our flanks are taking heavy damage!"

The other Zora pointed at the top of a crag. The Zora in question was sitting on top of it, staring out into the open water. To the two Zora watching him on the sand down below, it didn't seem like he was paying any attention to the battle.

"What is he doing, just sitting there?" asked the second one, incredulously.

"I don't know," said the first. "But I were us, I'd rather be sitting up there than where we are right now. Look!"

The other Zora followed the sudden order and was met with a horrid sight.

A swarm of Leevers and two Like-Likes were suddenly surrounding the pair. And it didn't look like they wanted to engage in a friendly conversation.

"Where the hell did these come from?"

"From that…that…THING…out there in the water! They probably traveled underground!"

Taking out their bows and arrows, they shot the slow, but more deadly Like-Likes first, which, after being hit a few times, melted, and its remains sparked into spiritual flame.

The Leevers, unfortunately, were much faster. Barely having any time to launch arrow attacks, they had to resort to using their arrows like small spears, stabbing the green blobs and watching them disappear into spiritual fire like the Like-Likes.

The risky maneuvers met their cons, however, when the first Zora missed his mark and received a powerful acidic sting on his right arm.

His arm in screaming pain, he was brought to his knees in agony. The attacking Leever leapt to the situation to deliver another blow, but the other Zora stabbed it just in time, and took care of the rest of them.

"Thank you," said the Zora on the ground.

"Don't mention it," said his ally.

"Come, we have to go speak to our leader!" said the injured Zora, forcing himself to stand up. "As we're running, cover me! Who knows how many of these underground attacks we can stand!"

"But your arm…" said the second Zora. "Even if we reach that cliff you won't be

able to go up that rock in that condition!"

"Who said my arm was that damaged?" said the first, holding back his wincing cries.

The second Zora got the message quickly and the two ran towards the crag, dodging more surprise attacks from the sand along the way before making their slow ascent.

The Zoran-Gyorgian War had dragged on for more than eight decades.

Wind Fish Bay, usually a tranquil beach, was now a war-torn wasteland littered with skeletons of those who fought dearly for what they believed in. Dead fish and brown kelp were left behind when the tides turned back towards the once clear water, which was now murky and reeking with dead bodies.

The Battle of Wind Fish Bay was the last stand that the Zoran armies had a chance of standing up to the powerful ruler, Gyorg, a terrifying menace that had the horrifying capabilities of black magic. In a sense, he could handle troop loss very well. Whenever he lost some members of his great fleet of aquatic Skullfish and Desbrekoes, he'd simply open his mouth, and with the magical power that resided in his massive body, it would allow him to produce more recruits by the dozen. Of the two aquatic troops, Desbrekoes were by far, worse. Larger, but slower, than an average Skullfish, it had the annoying persistence of never letting go once it bit into its prey. Since its teeth were as sharp as daggers, few lived to tell about it after being attacked by one.

In the case for a land attack he could also dig his mouth into the sea-bed and release troops via underground. They would powerfully dig their way through the soil to pop out unexpectedly on dry land for a surprise attack. The visual form of the reinforcements would be different, however. Instead of the aquatic Skullfish, the aforementioned new forms were Leevers (an organism that Zoras could only mention as green poisonous blobs that stung victims to death), and Like-Likes (large creatures resembling writhing brown coils that tended to eat anything). Like the earlier described comparison to the aquatic troops, the larger, but slower, Like-Likes were the land enemies to avoid the most.

Gyorg also had another defense - his tough armor. Not even the sharpest sword or pointed arrow could pierce into that steely wall of think scales. If things couldn't be any worse for the other side that may be fighting against him, it was Gyorg's veteran combat abilities. Though a fish, the power of his black magic allowed him an unnaturally long lifespan, and he'd been living in his prime for many centuries now, making it seem that he hardly aged at all. He seemed impossible to beat - the exact reason why every aquatic race that ever faced him was now extinct. The last and only aquatic race that Gyorg knew could face him were the Zoras, and once they were destroyed, then he could obtain true power of the seas.

But unlike his earlier wars, the Zoras were surprisingly stubborn, being able to hold him off for eighty years. But only a few thousand Zora fleets now stood in his way from obtaining his goal of total domination of the seas. Then he would possibly face the only person he feared at the moment. That person was the last known member of the Zoran Royal Family, who happened to be the leader of the armies. The relatively young Zora practiced a power that even Gyorg himself feared - white magic, the very type practiced by the three goddesses.

Enter Raphael, the leader of the Zoran armies, and survivor of the Royal Family. During the war, Gyorg had killed his father and grandfather before him, along with the rest of his family, to whom he showed no mercy. Watching the cruel slaying his father in battle was something that he could not forget. At the young age of twenty-four, he was out for revenge.

Raphael was unlike any other Zora. In fact, he had characteristics that made him quite different from a regular Zora.

First off, a regular Zora, part aquatic, had a fin at the end of the long tail that extended down from the head, kind of resembling a mermaid tail. Raphael, however, was missing the fin - it ended at a closed point. Also, if a Zora swam through the water, the arm fins would unsheathe, revealing the true size of the fins. Normally the fins wouldn't be that large - probably around a foot long, starting from a little behind the Zora's elbow and gently curving upward away from the arm a few inches before curving down again, forming the smooth shape of a fin to help glide through the water. Raphael's arm fins were much bigger. If he unsheathed his fins, they were twice the normal size. The lack of the fin on the head and these larger fins meant one thing - he was a faster and better swimmer than the others. They were also much sharper - a perfect weapon to use in slicing nearby foes. To further distinguish himself from other Zora, he decorated himself with the skeleton markings of the Skullfish that extended down from his head-tail and arm.

By perfecting his magical abilities, he was able to concentrate and focus his energy into producing a blue barrier of electricity, which, he called a Barrier Attack. Any enemy trying to break through the impenetrable barrier would either be stunned or killed, depending on how long the barrier stood and the environment of the enemy's territory. Only the Royal Family practiced white magic, meaning he was the only, and last, one in the Zoran race that could do this stunt.

Lastly, he had a very unique ability with his fins. All Zoras' arm fins had the ability to be removed from the arms and replaced without harm. Almost seems like useless information, but Raphael found a useful trick with the arm fins whenever there was a strong wind blowing. He was actually able to turn them into flying projectiles that worked like boomerangs. Called his Double-Cutters, they could actually be thrown off his arms and returned back to him without fail. That was, however, if there was a favorable wind blowing. If there was no wind, his trick wouldn't work. That problem was fixed with by playing a strange eight-note ballad with his flute. With the power of the goddesses, he developed a ballad that gave him control of the wind for as long as he needed to, which was even effective underwater, for it produced ocean currents. By simply playing the song again, the wind would subside and return to normal.

But he had one problem - these last two abilities could be used only if he replenished his magic, because now he had none. He could only replenish his magic by either visiting one of the five great fairies of legend, or by drinking an elixir that they brewed, dubbed "goddess elixir." Raphael looked at his belt and touched his only vial. If he was to face Gyorg today, then he could not use up this magic uselessly. He had to save all the Barrier Attacks for Gyorg. Drinking the contents of his final bottle, he prayed to the three goddesses (especially Farore, the Goddess of Courage) and his ancestors that he would not fail. Feeling a surge of power flow within him, he took his flute from his back and slowly played the ballad on the strangely windless day.

Zorans fighting at that point could recall that point quite well. Although some may not have known what happened, they could actually hear a faint song resembling Raphael's being echoed in the wind.

As Raphael closed his eyes, he felt a faint draft of wind moving across his face, almost sounding like a hushed whisper. But as the cold wind blew across his face, he also seemed to feel the warmth of his fallen family in the air. It was as if they were watching over him in his final battle.

Knowing that the gods and his family were now watching over him, his deeds were finished, and he was ready to dive off the cliff to face his greatest enemy. But before he could, however, the other two Zora had finally reached the top of the crag that Raphael was standing upon.

"Raphael!" said one of them, panting from the strenuous activity and wincing from the pain in his stung arm, "We…can't…hold…the armies…any further…"

"We have to give the order to retreat!" said the other. "We're sitting targets, just fighting here, trying to fight off these Skullfish!"

Raphael turned around and looked at them. "It is too late - Gyorg is here. We can't just run away forever. We have to destroy the source of the problem."

"But it is impossible!" said one of the Zora. "We can't defeat Gyorg!"

"It is very possible," said Raphael, unsheathing his fins. "Underneath all that magic, Gyorg is a mortal, bleeding fish. And I shall be the one to show you that."

"But sir -" began one of the Zora, but he was cut short.

"Should I not come back, then you shall give the order to retreat. May the goddesses watch over you, should I fail."

"You're going alone!" asked the other Zora. "We should at least come with you and give you backup."

"The waters around Gyorg are quite dangerous," said Raphael. "Unless you two can do what I can, you two wouldn't survive."

"What makes you think you can do it all alone?" asked the Zora together.

A faint smile appeared on Raphael's face as he replied with an effective one-word answer.

"Hope."

Seeing that there was nothing they could do to change his mind about the situation, the two Zora finally consented.

"We understand, sir," said the both of them.

"Please, don't say 'sir,'" said Raphael. "I see myself as an equal, even if I am your commander. Just call me Raphael."

"Then I wish you the best of luck, Raphael," said one of them. "Please, for the sake of the Zoran race, be careful."

Raphael's smile continued, the wind tossing his finless head-tail to and fro. Taking one last look at his friends, he dove into the water, ready for any oncoming obstacles in the murky hellwaters.

He was almost immediately attacked by Desbrekoes. Raphael was about to summon up his magic to produce the barrier but a loud noise stopped him and the surrounding attackers.

Searching around for the source of the noise, he located it. A large shadowy figure was in front of him underwater, and the Desbrekoes were dispersing quickly.

"HE'S MINE," said the shadowy figure.

As the shadow came into a ray of light shining through the water, Raphael could see the features of the shadow. The large eyes…the scales…he was staring at his nemesis - his greatest enemy…

"Ahhh!" said Gyorg. "RAPHAEL…AFTER EIGHTY YEARS, WE FINALLY MEET ON THE BATTLEFIELD!"

"Nice to meet you," said Raphael, unsheathing his fins, and standing on the ocean floor. "But don't plan on winning."

"UNDERESTIMATION IS A COSTLY MISTAKE," boomed Gyorg. "BUT VERY WELL! I ACCEPT YOUR CHALLENGE!"

"Gladly," said Raphael, with a smirk on his face. "Bring it on, Gyorg!"

Gyorg charged his rival. Raphael dodged the attack, and swam for Gyorg's side, sideswiping him with a Barrier Attack. Surprised, Gyorg, charged his foe again, but Raphael dodged that attack too and sideswiped Gyorg's weak side again with another attack.

Gyorg was now getting annoyed. Raphael was the first ever living being that had ever been able to damage him.

Gyorg's fins now madly swinging, he churned the surrounding water into a white froth. Raphael, blinded by the whiteness of the situation, could not see his rival.

Gyorg, out of nowhere, tackled Raphael from behind and disappeared into the white froth. Raphael, tumbling helplessly in the mist, got tackled again by Gyorg, this time from the front. Weakening Raphael even further, he had succeeded in bruising his ribs.

Ignoring his injuries, Raphael, pulled himself out of the tumbles and started spinning in the water. He created a powerful whirlpool, which dispersed the bubbles that clouded his vision. Seeing his foe through the now mist-like bubbles, he charged Gyorg with another Barrier Attack.

But Gyorg, watching the patterns in Raphael's fighting, was waiting for that. Before the Zora could reach his damaged side, he slapped the Zora away with his powerful fin, and the Barrier Attack failed.

Raphael, angry that some magic was wasted, charged at him again in rage, but in his anger, forgot to unleash his barrier.

By not doing so, however, he accidentally found out about something else. It was believed that Gyorg was covered from head to fin with tough scales. It turned out to be untrue, when his sharp fin cut into Gyorg's unprotected corner of his mouth. Blood from the wound slowly clouded the dark water, mixing into a pale brown.

"So you aren't as protected as you think!" yelled Raphael.

"HOW DID YOU…" began Gyorg, astonished. But he swam back, very much amused by the Zora's will to fight.

"I MUST SAY YOU FIGHT WELL, HAVING GOTTEN THIS FAR," said Gyorg. "BUT SEE IF YOU CAN STAND UP TOWARDS THIS!"

Gyorg's eyes twitched and his body shook. Then he opened his mouth, and a fleet of Skullfish and Desbrekoes swam out of his mouth.

Whatever Raphael was waiting for, he wasn't waiting for that. He retreated to find a spot to hide.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" said Gyorg. "BLOCK HIM OFF, MY SONS!"

The newly created Skullfish and Desbrekoes formed a wall that cut him off from escape routes. Raphael attempted to swim through the blockade, but failed when the prison of a thousand teeth took hold of him.

"Yah!" screamed Raphael in pain, swinging his sharp fins as wildly as he could. But it was no use. There was only one way out…

Barrier Attacking the offenders, and watching the Skullfish disperse, Raphael swam back towards his foe, now hurt badly. The wall of Skullfish reformed behind him, boxing him in.

"TAKE THIS!" boomed Gyorg.

Two Desbrekoes flew out of Gyorg's mouth and opened their razor-sharp teeth at Raphael, preparing to take a large bite out of him.

Finding a perfect current in the water, Raphael countered by punching the open water in front of him, aiming, then shooting his fins at the pair of Desbrekoes, killing both of them. Continuing to swim at breakneck speed, the enraged Raphael aimed towards Gyorg's throat, the one place he knew that he could gravely injure the gargantuan fish with a Barrier Attack.

But Gyorg closed his mouth in time, creating a shockwave that forced Raphael backwards. Tumbling over and over in the water, he was stopped, painfully, by a sharp rock embedded in the sea bed.

It took a lot of will power to force himself up. Watching his blood drift in the water, Raphael faced his enemy with dazed eyes.

"NOT BAD, RAPHAEL, NOT BAD AT ALL," said the enemy. "YOU KNOW MY WEAK POINT. BUT I KNOW YOURS AS WELL - IF YOU RUN OUT OF MAGIC, THAT BARRIER OF YOURS WILL NO LONGER WORK!" The fish guffawed.

Raphael, with a bit of fear, knew he was right. If Gyorg kept summoning reinforcements, then he would be so busy killing them that he wouldn't have enough power to destroy Gyorg himself. But he had to damage the throat, but the only time his mouth opened was to summon more creatures. How could he keep his mouth open? He started thinking.

"HAHAHA!" laughed Gyorg. "I KNOW YOU'RE NOT TIRED OF THIS YET!" Gyorg's body started shaking again.

Raphael looked at the unprotected point - the damaged corner of Gyorg's mouth. Putting one and one together, he had a great idea. His secret practicing would have to be put to the ultimate test. Sinking down to the ocean floor, he simply waited for Gyorg to make a move.

At the split second Gyorg's body stopped shaking, he punched the water ahead of him. Carefully aiming, he let loose his fins, just as the mouth opened and Skullfish started bulleting out of the creator.

Diving out of the way of the reinforcements, Raphael heard, at the same time, a great wail of pain coming from Gyorg. Distracted, he looked over.

It was a miracle shot. His fins struck and jammed themselves in the spots he wanted them to stick - the unprotected corners of Gyorg's mouth.

Gyorg, no matter how hard he tried, could not close his mouth, or remove the jammed fins, as the remaining Skullfish flew out of his mouth, exposing his throat.

This was Raphael's only chance. Swimming like lightning towards the open mouth and grabbing his fins simultaneously, he summoned up all his strength to produce the mightiest Barrier Attack he could…right at the proximity of Gyorg's mortal weak point.

It was as if time stopped altogether for Gyorg's army. Raphael's attack slowly drained his power as Gyorg screamed in misery.

"NOO!" cried Gyorg his power drained out of him. "BUT, I CANNOT…BE…DEFEATED!"

The blue light flickered involuntarily, signaling Raphael's attack was about to end. He escaped from the jaws of Gyorg just as the mouth was about to shut. Absolutely exhausted, he faced Gyorg.

"You're…through…" yelled Raphael, breathing heavily, as all power was drained from him to produce that attack.

"IMPOSSIBLE! HOW COULD A THING LIKE YOU BEAT ME?" yelled the gargantuan fish.

Raphael had the answer in his head, but decided to remain silent.

"BUT…NO…MATTER!" said Gyorg, his health fading fast. "MY MAGIC SHALL LIVE ON! I WILL BE REBORN AGAIN, AND WHEN THAT DAY HAPPENS, I WILL DESTROY THE REMAINDER OF YOUR PATHETHIC CIVILIZATION!"

Gyorg's final words caused the dark sea to writhe with an immense ferocity. A dark light penetrated from the fish as his final magic act that represented his promise was shone. Knowing he could not conquer the evil beast's final magic stunt by himself, Raphael prayed that the goddesses would hear him, as he announced his last words to Gyorg.

"Hear me, Gyorg!" yelled Raphael. "Whenever that event may arise, I too, will be reborn again! There will always be someone to stop you and I will be there. Whether in mind or spirit, it does not matter! Therefore, I place a curse on your spirit! Shall you ever be reborn, for every single tear that falls from your affinities for conquest, you shall be one step closer to spending an eternity in the Evil Realm, and the fallen tears shall be avenged! That is a promise, Gyorg! The struggles against you shall not be in vain!"

With that, a white light shone down from the heavens and lanced into the great beast. The white magic of the goddesses heard Raphael and made true his wishes.

The power of the beam lancing into Gyorg felt like white fire, as the sea slowly settled from its previous disturbance with the dark light. In immense pain, Gyorg breathed his last breath, and floated up to the surface of the water, dead.

Meanwhile, to the remaining Zoran troops still fighting, they watched as the enemy army shriveled into spiritual fire, because the source, Gyorg, had died.

When Raphael, drained of his magic and severely battle scarred, returned to his men, they cheered his name, and held a celebration in his honor, for the brave Zoran Hero that saved them from the legendary "unbeatable" Gyorg. Gyorg's dead body was now sealed away in a hidden location - a temple, as a matter of fact. It was feared that someone would resurrect the beast, because although dead, the great power of black magic still crept through his body.

But now was a time to celebrate. Raphael eventually married and the Zoran Royal Family had a chance to re-develop. To every son that happened to look like the alpha father for years after that, he was considered a Zoran Hero in honor of the noble warrior, and it became custom to have a festival for such an event. The power of white magic still remained in the blood of the Royal Family, passed down from generations.

The Zora population during this time of peace eventually grew back to their original population before Gyorg turned their home into a wasteland. They lived in peace in the oceans and bays for years, as the only aquatic race of their kind.

This is the Zoran legend passed down by the elders for generations.

But the promises of the past left the elders with this haunting question: Would it come true? The legend simply stops there. The Zoran Royal Family's history was lost, and it was unknown if there was even a descendant of the Royal Family left…

The answer came in the form of a very unlikely candidate years ahead into the future, in the modern world…

_End Prologue_

_Tell me what you think…please read and review. All comments are welcome, but please limit cussing._


	2. A Time for Celebration

_A/N: Wow...it's been almost four months since I last updated...well, I don't know what to say...I was doing some other things (school mostly) until I came up across old files, found this story, and felt myself saying, "Oh, my God, I forgot all about this!"_

_If there were people waiting for me, I apologize severely._

_I have looked at the old chapter one and decided that it isn't the best way to start this...so I have a completely different beginning..._

_Hopefully you'll enjoy it..._

**I. _A Time for Celebration_**

It was a late, yet calm, summer afternoon, centuries after the Great Raphael had slain the great fish that caused such havoc on the present day Wind Fish Bay, now an area called Great Bay in a land known as Termina. The very place in the bay where Raphael triumphed over the powerful Gyorg now stood a temple to commemorate the Great War, so many years ago. Called Great Bay Temple, it took on the likeness of the fearsome beast. In the case that intruders would try to enter the sacred temple, it was protected by a powerful windstorm that, according to legend, Raphael had conjured up himself with his last breath on his instrument. The storm, to his day, never disappears, which gave new form to the meaning that he would always be guarding the sacred area, watching, until the time would arise when his help would be needed again…

If you were a Zora, you could easily swim through the water underneath the storm, bypassing it altogether. But there was only one way past the stormy shield for a human, and that help was rumored to have been a gentle spirit sealed away with magic, and the only way to awaken it was through another mysterious song…

But enough about the legend…forty miles away from the land of Termina was another Zoran area called Windy Bay, where a family known as the Zoraskis lived. Here, the smooth, peaceful water was tranquil, and there was not a cloud in sight as bright sunrays pierced through the blue water, touching the home of the Zoraski family, in happy celebration, on the underwater street known as Canvas Boulevard.

The reason for celebration, you ask? The ten fertilized eggs that Mrs. Zoraski had laid were all neatly lined up, sitting in the aquarium, waiting to hatch. Everyone in the family was there to witness the event, including the gossip-hungry Ellen, sister to Mrs. Zoraski. There was a mix of laughter, nervousness, and alacrity as the whole family waited for the Zoran eggs to hatch. Even Mr. Zoraski, usually the type to remain calm, was searching frantically for the camcorder.

"Oh! I forgot the camcorder!" yelled Mr. Zoraski. "I need to tape this - no one should miss this!" He swam upstairs like lightning, crooked.

"John! You and your crooked freestyle swimming!" yelled Ellen as he knocked over a vase upstairs. "You probably passed that trait on to your children! Seriously, Julia, I always wondered what you always saw in that Zora..."

"It was a normal bonding that eventually grew into a relationship," said Mrs. Zoraski. "Nothing unusual to me, I'd say."

Ellen's eyes widened. "You _don't_ think that he is unus-"

"Oh, Ellen, give him a break," said Uncle Marlen, Ellen's husband. "You know he means well."

"Yeah, he means well, with his strange behaviors and horrible swimming…"

"AND THE STRANGE WAY HE HOLDS HIS CLUBS FOR URCHIN GOLF!" yelled Peter Airheart from across the street, overhearing the conversation through the open door of the Zoraski residence.

"HE MAY BE MY BEST FRIEND, BUT I ADMIT THERE ARE SOME STRANGE TIMES WITH HIM," he yelled.

"OH, FINE, SEE IF YOU EVER BECOME MY CHILDREN'S GODFATHER!" yelled back Mr. Zoraski from the upstairs window. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE SUPPORTING ME, NOT CRITICIZING ME!"

Everyone in the house laughed, and so did the Airhearts across the street. "I'm just giving some new gossip for Ellen," yelled Peter from across the street, closing his door behind him. He laughed when he went inside, telling some of the story to his wife, Debrah, sitting inside.

"What is it, Pick on the Excited Husband Day?" Mr. Zoraski called from upstairs.

"Oh, such funny business around here." said Ellen, turning to her sister. "Well I am so surprised that you even made those people across the street the little Zoras' caretakers. I mean,Debrah, she has that defect that keeps her from even _laying _eggs…honestly, I don't know why Peter even…"

"Must you criticize _everybody_, Ellen?" asked an exasperated Marlen.

"Oh, just trying to make a point around here…" said Ellen, turning to her sister.

"So when did you lay these young guys, Julia? Three days ago?" asked Ellen.

"Oh, that's about right," said Mrs. Zoraski, still laughing. "Or else I'll have some problem with these little guys, won't I? Speaking of problem, the ocean has been acting so strange lately…I mean, with the water randomly turning grey and the stories of all those missing Zoras…I wonder if they're all interconnected? I do pray that nothing will happen to us…I feel a little frightened…"

Ellen shrugged. "I know for a fact that nothing will happen to any of us…I mean, if something DID happen here today, there are plenty of witnesses. Anyway, back to these young Zoras. I'll bet you must be proud of them all. Imagine - ten eggs, all in one sitting! I don't know whether to thank you or take offense…I'm going to be a

pretty busy aunt!" she said playfully.

"Yes…now you know how I feel with those eight children of yours!" laughed Mrs. Zoraski. But it's a good thing we have all this extra space for the ten little Zoras," she said dreamily.

The clock then chimed a half-hour's passing.

Reading the clock, Julia was a little startled to see how fast time was moving. "Time to feed the little fellows!" she said.

She went to the kitchen and got some milk. Through a special tube that separated liquids from the surrounding water, she emptied the carton into the aquarium, where it was immediately sucked up by the eggs. Mrs. Zoraski watched them with pride.

"Oh, and you're right Ellen - I'm proud of them all, especially this one." With her fin, she pointed to a transparent egg, where they could see a little baby Zora wiggling its fins, begging to come out. It repeatedly beat at the inside of the rubbery shell with powerful fins, which were surprisingly sharp.

"What's so special about that one?" inquired Uncle Marlen.

"Well, other than being the most energetic, I do believe that he has his father's eyes! And I just _adore _those beautiful markings on that little fellow, even if other people say they look strange. Take a look for yourself!" said Mrs. Zoraski.

Ellen got closer to the aquarium and examined the baby Zora. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "Those _are_ unusual. Look at this, Marlen! Kids, you see this, too!"

Automatically, ten Zora adults and children swam up to the tank. They saw the curious blue markings different from the back of a regular Zora, and saw strange birthmarks on the crown, neck, and right arm. His fins looked a little too large for his small Zoran body, and the head-tail that was supposed to be at end of the recognizable Zoran crown was missing.

"He'll look different from any normal Zora after he comes out of that egg, I can tell you that," joked one of the children.

"Roger!" snapped Ellen.

"Sorry, Mom, but you gotta admit, it's the truth!"

Mrs. Zoraski laughed.

"Ugh…Upstairs, Roger. I'll have a talk with you later." said Ellen. Roger glumly swam upstairs. Ellen faced her sister.

"Sorry, Julia."

"Oh, that's no problem, it's only child talk," said Mrs. Zoraski.

"Eureka, I found it!" said Mr. Zoraski from upstairs with the camcorder. He swam down to the living room and started taping the event. "Yes, any minute now," he narrated with the camera.

He panned the aquarium. "Here are our soon-to-be Zoran children, quietly waiting in their eggs."

Then he faced the camera in his wife's direction. "And here is the star of the show! The beautiful Zora who laid these beautiful eggs! Smile!"

Laughing, Mrs. Zoraski waved at the camera.

Still panning the house interior, Mr. Zoraski yelled through the camera, "And here's the sister of the beautiful Zora, Ellen…say 'hi' Ellen!"

Waving, Ellen said, "And what do you mean by that remark, John? That I'm not as beautiful as Jul-"

"And moving on!" said Mr. Zoraski, avoiding Ellen's confrontation by looking in another direction.

"Here's soon-to-be Grandmother Gail and Grandfather Lee!" They waved.

"And the eight…er…seven out of the eight children of Ellen and Marlen! Where's Roger?" he asked off camera.

"Upstairs, being punished," said Ellen.

"Hmm…OK," said a confused Mr. Zoraski. Then he turned the camera back in his wife's direction. "Well, dear, we can't put this off any longer. Did we ever give names for these ten guys of ours?"

"No we didn't," she said. "Where to start? Let's start with this little fellow," she said, pointing to the young Zora she was so proud of. What shall we name him?"

"You know," said Ellen, "Now that I look at him, doesn't he resemble that Zora from our legends in Zoran History Class? (Gosh, I hated that subject!) I can't exactly remember his name - ruggedly handsome fellow, though…"

"Oh!" exclaimed Mr. Zoraski, "You mean Raphael the III, my a-"

"JOHN!" Mrs. Zoraski cut him short.

_Oh, that was close,_ thought Mr. Zoraski, with a dumb look on his face.

"What did you say, John?" asked Ellen, looking at the camera.

"Uh, nothing…" said Mr. Zoraski. "I h-happened to mention that Zora's name, Raphael!"

"That's right!" Ellen excitedly said, forgetting the crisis. "Raphael, Julia! Name him Raphael!"

"No, I don't care for that name," said Mrs. Zoraski, steering the conversation out of dangerous waters. "I always wanted to name him, well, something different…something like…Mikau."

"Mikau Zoraski?" asked Ellen. "Well, OK, Mikau!" she said. "I still think Raphael is better," she muttered under her breath to Marlen, who responded by rolling his eyes.

"Uh…OK…little Mikau!" said Mr. Zoraski, zooming in on the egg. "Now what should we name this little fellow?" he said, panning to the egg left of Mikau.

But they never got the chance...

Unexpectedly, the sun's rays disappeared from the open door, and the clear blue water suddenly turned dark grey. A foul odor filled the room.

"W-What's going on?" asked Mrs. Zoraski, slowly and nervously. "I don't like the feeling of this at all…I feel a chill down my back."

Sensing something terrible was about to happen, she looked around the room. Then she saw the culprit.

"AHHH!" she screamed. "JOHN, IT'S ONE OF THOSE…THINGS!"

Putting down the camcorder, Mr. Zoraski turned around and looked at the open door. Blocking the sunrays was an unexpected guest.

Terror and pandemonium filled every Zora in the room as John Zoraski yelled, "EVERYBODY! UPSTAIRS, NOW!"

_A/N: Hopefully this sounds better...reviews, if you may..._


	3. The Birth of Mikau

**II.** **_The Birth of Mikau_**

_A/N: OK...I've finally found the courage to continue...once again, I apologize for the long waiting period. I just think that this might be a little on the bad side, however...it seems a bit, well, strange upon how I thought this up..._

_P.S. - If you're going to flame, do it tastefully. I still consider myself new to this._

Every Zora in the family swam upstairs to flee for their lives as John and Julia were left downstairs with the uninvited guest.

It was a Like-Like, monstrous in size, and it coiled around the door slowly to block off the only possible escape route. John and Julia wished they never installed bars on the windows to keep invaders out. Now everyone was trapped inside, unless there was something they could do…

"HAVING TROUBLE NAMING THE LITTLE FELLOWS, HUH?" boomed the Like-Like. "WELL, LET'S SAVE ALL THAT TROUBLE RIGHT NOW. I HAVE ONE NAME FOR THEM ALL - LUNCH!"

It coiled voraciously, but slowly, toward the aquarium of the young Zoras, knocking over furniture in its wake.

Julia shrieked. "What are we going to do, John? I'm so afraid!" She hid behind her husband.

"There's only one thing we can do!" yelled John.

"Fight it!" she yelled. "But that thing will eat you alive if you get too close to it!"

John started thinking. They could hack away at it with knives in hopes of it bleeding to death, but that would only hold out for so long, because it was already approaching. But then he had another plan. His secret stash behind the cabinet wall…it was their only hope…

"Julia!" he shouted. "The potion we found in that old shop! Get it!"

"But that won't work, you're just…"

"Just get it!" he said. "Trust me…I'll hold him off as long as possible. Do you have any better ideas? Go! Go!"

Trusting her husband, Julia nodded and swam out from behind him, hurriedly, into the kitchen. She frantically searched for something strong to break into the wall behind the cabinet, and found a mallet used to break crab shells. She picked it up, opened the cabinet, tossed all the dishes out of the way, and starting pounding away at the weak wall. Although it took only three strikes, it seemed like an eternity when it broke, and she grabbed an old bottle in the hidden compartment that read "Goddess Elixir" on its label.

Thousands of questions filled her head as she read the bottle. Would it work for her husband? It would only work for a person that practiced white magic, and Raphael, his ancestor, was among the very few in the Zora history that how. But what about her own husband?

Sure, he may have the ancestral blood running through his veins, but she didn't know if he'd be able to produce the legendary Barrier, the one attack, other than a knife slash, that Like-Likes were afraid of. And she definitely wanted to keep her husband's strange ways a secret. But time was of the essence, and it was a chance they'd have to take, as they were slowly running out of it. Grabbing a few knives on the way out, she dashed outside to the living room, where she saw her husband, backed up against the aquarium, trying to protect the eggs.

"Julia!" he hollered, throwing a book at the Like-Like, watching it disappear in its slimy flesh. "Do you have the elixir?"

"I have it here in my hand!" she yelled, waving the bottle above her head.

"Throw it over here!" he yelled.

She threw the potion, and he missed it. It bounced off his hand and through the bars at the top of the aquarium, where it broke and its contents got sucked up by the eggs.

"Oh, no!" yelled Julia, putting her face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, John!"

John helplessly looked at the eggs, then at the Like-Like. "Julia! Never mind! Just throw whatever you can at it! I'm not going to give up without a fight!"

Frantically, Julia threw a knife at the Like-Like, wounding it in the side.

"OW!" yelled the Like-Like, as brown blood starting gushing from the wound. "I"LL GET YOU!" it said, as it turned towards the direction of Julia.

_Now I've done it!_ she thought. "JOHN!" she yelled. "HELP!"

The husband Zora dashed into the Like-Like and hit it as hard as he could with his head. The Like-Like retaliated by using its girth to fling him to the other side of the room. John hit the bookshelf, knocking over a vase at the top of the shelf, where it quickly fell down on the ground and shattered. He watched, with dazed, narrow eyes as the Like-Like continued progressing, and backed his wife up towards the wall, who was now out of knives.

She screamed. "Please! No! Please…stop!" She hid her face in her hands.

John, watching with narrowed and blurring eyes, could not bear to see his wife die. Struggling to get up, he, too, yelled.

"STAY AWAY FROM HER!"

He dashed again into the Like-Like, well away from its mouth, but he couldn't knock it off course. The Like-Like trudged on toward its target, still backed up in the corner.

In a final ditch effort to save Julia, John unsheathed his fins and sliced into the Like-Like's gummy flesh with all his strength, knocking it out of the way of his wife and creating heavy damage. After doing this, however, he collapsed on the ground, exhausted.

Unfortunately, it was not enough.

The Like-Like, with a vengeance, turned its attention towards the worn-out adversary on the floor. "I'LL GET YOU OF THE WAY FIRST!" it yelled to John. It crept over to John, arched its back, and grew to an immense size.

"JOHN!" she yelled, swimming over to her fallen husband. She tried picking him up, but it was no use. He was too heavy, and she, too, was exhausted.

John regained consciousness as he looked at the Like-Like. He was staring into the round, open, dark mouth of the Like-Like. Time slowed down as he said to his struggling wife, _"Julia…it was…a nice try…but we…failed…"_

Julia also noticed the slowing of the time as she looked at the face of her husband and the dark mouth of the Like-Like. Tears were in her eyes as she said to him, _"I…I'm sorry, John…I truly am."_

John smiled weakly and hugged her. She hugged him back, preparing for the end. Both had the same prayer in their heads. Perhaps they would meet again...

The Like-Like shrunk down to size, then came upon the married couple. The Like-Like made a few sucking motions where they lay, and stayed there for about a minute. When the Like-Like finished, the section of the floor it had stood on was now bare, save for a few blood spots.

John and Julia Zoraski were no more.

"AHH!" screamed Ellen from the top of the stairs. She swam back to her hiding place.

Big mistake. The Like-Like heard the yell from upstairs and stared creeping up the stairs towards the top. Screams of agony could be heard from the next street over as the Like-Like consumed the whole family, in revenge for the near fatal wound given to him from John's last strike.

"HELP, ANYBODY, PLEASE!" they yelled.

But no Zora came. No one could fight off the enraged Like-Like. One by one, the Like-Like ate them all in vengeance, showing no mercy at all. After fifteen minutes of bloodcurdling screams, all was silent in the residence.

The Like-Like, its work complete, went downstairs, about to exit, until it saw the aquarium with the ten little eggs, still unbroken, inside of it.

"OHH…" said the Like-Like, eyeing the eggs hungrily. "Caviar..."

Creeping towards the cage, it broke into it, and proceeded to chew up the soft eggs, one by one.

The glutton enjoyed its delicacy in delight as it consumed the first nine. Feeling like it had reached the jackpot house to break into that night, it decided to wait a little before it cleaned out the residence of all inhabitants, but it stopped as it witnessed something that it had never seen before in its life, because it never took the time to do so.

The last Zora egg was hatching.

The Like-Like watched as the last egg cracked. It stared as the little Zora came out of its shell. It had markings different from the other Zora, with birthmarks on top of its crown, neck, and right arm. The little Zora had surprisingly large fins.

"WELL," said the Like-Like. "I ALWAYS LIKE FOOD ON THE RUN…" It proceeded to try and eat the young Zora.

The baby turned its head when the Like-Like's mouth stretched open to eat it, and in doing so, its sharp right fin cut into the Like-Like's mouth.

"GAH!" yelled the Like-Like. "I'LL GET YOU!" It charged towards the little Zora.

The baby looked at the charging Like-Like. Then, closing his eyes, he felt some strange unnatural power surge through his little body. It seemed that he was filled with some strange energy. Suddenly, the built-up energy grew to an immense size in the little Zora, and started pouring out in waves. A strange blue electrical current surrounded him just as the Like-Like was upon him.

"GWAHHHH!" shrieked the Like-Like. "WHAT IS THIS POWER! NOO!" it yelled in agony. Its body started melting as the strange blue current continued running around the little Zora, passing through painfully to the surprised Like-Like. Puddles of brown goo surrounded the Like-Like as it said its final words, "CURSE YOU, WHATEVER YOU ARE!" Then it shriveled up into nothing.

Baby Mikau's body could no longer support the strange blue current. The world fell black and silent as Baby Mikau lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Silence. Then a short beep with the glow of a red light, signaling a dead battery on a forgotten camera. Then all was quiet again.


End file.
